Middle East live: Turkey rejects Israeli claims after strike on Syria air base
France 24
F
France 24
Original Source
Turkey rejected Israeli claims regarding a strike on a Syrian air base, while announcing its readiness to cooperate with Damascus on oil and gas exploration. Oil prices surged to three-week highs amid uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
19/08/2026 - 14:31
Gaza health officials say Israeli strike on police station killed seven people
Gaza health officials said an Israeli strike on the municipal police headquarters in Gaza City killed seven people and wounded several others.
Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital reported the arrival of seven bodies and at least 22 wounded people following the strike. The territory's civil defence rescue agency confirmed the death toll.
19/08/2026 - 14:21
Turkey is ready to search for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish minister says
Turkey is ready to work with Damascus to look for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.
* Turkish state oil company TPAO and private companies are ready for seismical surveys and exploration drilling both offshore and onshore in Syria, Bayraktar said at a joint press conference in Damascus with Syrian Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir.
* Turkey operates a deep sea drilling fleet and is drilling an exploration well off the coast of Somalia. The state oil company also won a licence to look for oil in Libyan offshore fields.
* Turkey and Syria will commission new infrastructure over the next few weeks, tripling electricity transmission capacity to over 800 megawatts, Bayraktar said.
19/08/2026 - 14:07
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 54 cents, or 0.59%, to $91.56 by 1157 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 59 cents, or 0.69%, to $85.53 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30, and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
"Confidence in safe passage remains low, with shipping volumes still running well below normal levels. That persistent uncertainty continues to keep a geopolitical risk premium embedded in the oil price," KCM chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.
19/08/2026 - 14:06
Israeli air strike kills six Palestinians at police post in Gaza, medics say
An Israeli air strike killed six Palestinians at a police post in Gaza City on Wednesday, medical sources told Reuters.
Earlier on Wednesday, in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a separate Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian, medics said, taking Wednesday's death toll to at least seven.
19/08/2026 - 13:57
Yemen govt warns Houthis planning to seize Bab al-Mandab coast
A Yemeni minister has warned that the country's Houthi rebels are plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would allow the group to further threaten the vital shipping artery.
Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for Yemeni government forces bordering the waterway also told AFP the rebels are planning to advance.
Such an assault, if successful, would cement Houthi control over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which the Iran-backed rebels have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.
It would also extend the hold of Tehran and its allies to a second vital waterway in the Middle East after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States.
19/08/2026 - 13:24
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for special status on Hormuz oil exports
Iraq's parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi called for special status for Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his office said in a statement, without providing further details.
19/08/2026 - 13:23
Israeli military says it will launch criminal probes into killings of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and Gaza paramedics
Israel's military will open internal criminal investigations over its troops' killings in Gaza of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in January 2024 and 15 emergency and aid workers in March 2025, it said on Wednesday.
The military said the investigation decisions followed probes by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism. It released decisions regarding five incidents involving the deaths of Palestinians.
They included an examination of the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. On that incident, the military said there was "no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation."
"For more than a thousand days, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has been conducting intensive combat across numerous fronts, carrying out a wide range of military missions in an exceptionally complex operational reality, the Israeli military said.
19/08/2026 - 13:22
France FM condemns far-right Israeli minister's 'inhumane' Gaza remarks
France's foreign minister on Wednesday condemned "inhumane" remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza.
The remarks on a podcast by Itamar Ben Gvir "are intolerable and inhumane", said Jean-Noël Barrot.
19/08/2026 - 12:17
Germany's Merz condemns far-right Israeli minister's Gaza remarks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza, a government spokesman said.
"The chancellor strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir, which violate international law," spokesman Sebastian Hille said. "They are unacceptable."
Ben Gvir's comments, made in a podcast of a former Gaza hostage, have triggered widespread criticism in Germany, traditionally one of Israel's staunchest international allies.
Lars Klingbeil, German vice chancellor and finance minister, said in a TV interview Tuesday that Ben Gvir's comments "must have consequences", adding that sanctions were being discussed at the European level.
19/08/2026 - 10:18
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 45 cents, or 0.49%, to $91.47 by 07:54 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.53%, to $85.39 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30 and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran, which said the waterway remained shut.
19/08/2026 - 08:40
Iran's armed forces warn Gulf countries against assisting US military
Iran's armed forces on Wednesday warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military operations.
"We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation," armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran's Mehr news agency.
19/08/2026 - 06:48
Palestinian-American hoists US flag on occupied West Bank home besieged by Israeli settlers
Louai Abu Ridi, who owns one of three houses in Qusra, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, flew back from his adopted home of Ohio on Monday after settlers trapped residents inside and refused to let in food or other supplies for more than a week.
He was flying the Stars and Stripes outside his home on Tuesday and said he has asked the US embassy to keep raising his case.
"It's my message to all Americans in the United States to see what's going on here in the West Bank, how the settlers put us under siege trying to take my own house in the West Bank," Abu Ridi told AFP reporters inside his home.
Under US pressure, the Israeli military said last week it had given orders to remove the settlers.
Troops took down their tent and
Gaza health officials say Israeli strike on police station killed seven people
Gaza health officials said an Israeli strike on the municipal police headquarters in Gaza City killed seven people and wounded several others.
Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital reported the arrival of seven bodies and at least 22 wounded people following the strike. The territory's civil defence rescue agency confirmed the death toll.
19/08/2026 - 14:21
Turkey is ready to search for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish minister says
Turkey is ready to work with Damascus to look for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.
* Turkish state oil company TPAO and private companies are ready for seismical surveys and exploration drilling both offshore and onshore in Syria, Bayraktar said at a joint press conference in Damascus with Syrian Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir.
* Turkey operates a deep sea drilling fleet and is drilling an exploration well off the coast of Somalia. The state oil company also won a licence to look for oil in Libyan offshore fields.
* Turkey and Syria will commission new infrastructure over the next few weeks, tripling electricity transmission capacity to over 800 megawatts, Bayraktar said.
19/08/2026 - 14:07
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 54 cents, or 0.59%, to $91.56 by 1157 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 59 cents, or 0.69%, to $85.53 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30, and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
"Confidence in safe passage remains low, with shipping volumes still running well below normal levels. That persistent uncertainty continues to keep a geopolitical risk premium embedded in the oil price," KCM chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.
19/08/2026 - 14:06
Israeli air strike kills six Palestinians at police post in Gaza, medics say
An Israeli air strike killed six Palestinians at a police post in Gaza City on Wednesday, medical sources told Reuters.
Earlier on Wednesday, in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a separate Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian, medics said, taking Wednesday's death toll to at least seven.
19/08/2026 - 13:57
Yemen govt warns Houthis planning to seize Bab al-Mandab coast
A Yemeni minister has warned that the country's Houthi rebels are plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would allow the group to further threaten the vital shipping artery.
Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for Yemeni government forces bordering the waterway also told AFP the rebels are planning to advance.
Such an assault, if successful, would cement Houthi control over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which the Iran-backed rebels have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.
It would also extend the hold of Tehran and its allies to a second vital waterway in the Middle East after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States.
19/08/2026 - 13:24
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for special status on Hormuz oil exports
Iraq's parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi called for special status for Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his office said in a statement, without providing further details.
19/08/2026 - 13:23
Israeli military says it will launch criminal probes into killings of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and Gaza paramedics
Israel's military will open internal criminal investigations over its troops' killings in Gaza of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in January 2024 and 15 emergency and aid workers in March 2025, it said on Wednesday.
The military said the investigation decisions followed probes by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism. It released decisions regarding five incidents involving the deaths of Palestinians.
They included an examination of the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. On that incident, the military said there was "no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation."
"For more than a thousand days, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has been conducting intensive combat across numerous fronts, carrying out a wide range of military missions in an exceptionally complex operational reality, the Israeli military said.
19/08/2026 - 13:22
France FM condemns far-right Israeli minister's 'inhumane' Gaza remarks
France's foreign minister on Wednesday condemned "inhumane" remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza.
The remarks on a podcast by Itamar Ben Gvir "are intolerable and inhumane", said Jean-Noël Barrot.
19/08/2026 - 12:17
Germany's Merz condemns far-right Israeli minister's Gaza remarks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister that Israel should kill 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza, a government spokesman said.
"The chancellor strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir, which violate international law," spokesman Sebastian Hille said. "They are unacceptable."
Ben Gvir's comments, made in a podcast of a former Gaza hostage, have triggered widespread criticism in Germany, traditionally one of Israel's staunchest international allies.
Lars Klingbeil, German vice chancellor and finance minister, said in a TV interview Tuesday that Ben Gvir's comments "must have consequences", adding that sanctions were being discussed at the European level.
19/08/2026 - 10:18
Oil hits three-week high on uncertainty over Hormuz
Oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
Brent crude futures climbed 45 cents, or 0.49%, to $91.47 by 07:54 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.53%, to $85.39 a barrel.
Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30 and WTI reached its highest since July 31.
Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran, which said the waterway remained shut.
19/08/2026 - 08:40
Iran's armed forces warn Gulf countries against assisting US military
Iran's armed forces on Wednesday warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military operations.
"We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation," armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran's Mehr news agency.
19/08/2026 - 06:48
Palestinian-American hoists US flag on occupied West Bank home besieged by Israeli settlers
Louai Abu Ridi, who owns one of three houses in Qusra, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, flew back from his adopted home of Ohio on Monday after settlers trapped residents inside and refused to let in food or other supplies for more than a week.
He was flying the Stars and Stripes outside his home on Tuesday and said he has asked the US embassy to keep raising his case.
"It's my message to all Americans in the United States to see what's going on here in the West Bank, how the settlers put us under siege trying to take my own house in the West Bank," Abu Ridi told AFP reporters inside his home.
Under US pressure, the Israeli military said last week it had given orders to remove the settlers.
Troops took down their tent and
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Source: France 24
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